MINNESOTA
Catholic Spirit
Maria Wiering | December 18, 2015
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office entered into a settlement agreement Dec. 18 on a civil petition the county filed against the archdiocese in June. Archbishop Bernard Hebda, the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator, called the settlement “the latest and most public indicator that this archdiocese has earnestly embarked on a journey of self-reflection, evaluation and action.”
“If there were any doubts about the archdiocese’s pledge to keeping kids safe, the provisions announced today, going beyond what the law would require, should help put those doubts to rest,” he said at a news conference.
The 24-page agreement outlines child protection measures the archdiocese has already implemented or has promised to implement, and Ramsey County’s oversight of those measures for three years.
Among them are continuing the role of the archdiocese’s newly established Ministerial Review Board in examining claims of clergy sexual abuse, creating a comprehensive set of policy documents readily available online, and an increased level of involvement from lay people at the parish, seminary and school levels.
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